


gingersnaps

by mizzymouse



Series: Randland University (College AU) [1]
Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Flirting, F/F, Gen, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-09 08:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8883307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizzymouse/pseuds/mizzymouse
Summary: Why do girls have to be cute? Why am I like this?
 A college/coffeeshop AU for the UAF Secret Santa - happy holidays amyrlin!





	

**Author's Note:**

> I made a short playlist of some of my favorite music that would probably play in the coffeeshop. Bonus points for most of them being love songs. Give it a listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/mizzymouse/playlist/7wRFsnSSmEDOYNQYxO5hVU).
> 
> Edit 4/13/17 - I added this to the series tag for my WoT college au. Background information is found on the series page.

Behind the counter stood Min, absentmindedly polishing a glass with a clean rag. It was finals week, and the coffee shop was predictably busy, but the late-afternoon lull never ceased to appear. The Stag and Lion was the main off-campus hangout for the university upperclassmen: vintage and clean, lots of quiet indie music, a bookshelf full of well-loved board games, and, if Min did say so herself, some of the best hot drinks for miles around. Business would pick up again after dinner, when the night owl crowd wandered in for a last cup of coffee to fuel their all-nighters. But for now she was (gladly) alone. 

The bell on the door chimed, and Min turned to greet the newcomer. It was the blonde girl, the polysci major, what was her name? Elayne. She always looked so regal, red-gold hair curling in just the right way. How she made t-shirts and cardigans look like the latest fashion Min would never know, but she did. 

Min blushed, hurriedly putting the over-polished glass aside and attempting to look uninterested. Or least trying not to let Elayne see she was blushing. 

But Elayne lingered at the door a moment longer, holding it open for someone. A rather tall woman walked in after her, someone who Min had seen infrequently enough to not remember a name. She was athletic, wide of shoulder, with short-cropped red hair and a tank top with obnoxiously large arm holes, cut from a shirt that previously had sleeves. It read “Maidens of the Spear” in a classic gym-shirt layout, the name of the university’s women’s track and field team. That explained the tall woman’s odd tan lines.

The two carried heavy-looking backpacks, their arms laden with books from the school library. They selected a table in the corner and unloaded their belongings. So it was a study session, and they would probably be there for a while. Good and bad, Min thought, since she had more time to try and flirt with Elayne. But also, more time to flirt with Elayne could prove difficult. And distracting. Min made a show of being busy, replacing clean cups and wiping down some of the counter.

She didn’t immediately notice when Elayne walked over, and jumped a little when she finally did. 

“Oh, hi.” _I hope I’m not blushing as much as I think I am._ “Elayne, right? What can I get for you?” Min knew the woman’s usual order: jasmine tea, strong but with no sugar, and one of the gingersnap cookies Min made fresh every few days. 

Elayne smiled warmly and laughed quietly with exhaling breath. Though she wouldn’t want to admit it, Min was a little dumbstruck. _Light, maybe I am blushing._

“A cup of jasmine for me, and chai for Avi. Very sweet, but no milk. And a few of those gingersnap cookies.” She glanced over her shoulder, indicating that Avi was her companion, currently rearranging their stacks of books. Min blinked a few times, scribbled down the order, and punched prices into the register. Elayne handed over a $10 bill and Min handed back change, secretly hoping for one of those movie moments when your hands brush and everything goes into slow motion. It didn’t. 

Min made the drinks, loading everything up on a tray, but by the time she was ready to walk it over more customers had showed up. No loitering and flirting for her. Elayne and Avi did flash her warm smiles when she dropped everything off. Min was a little dumbstruck again, this time because of both of them. 

_Why do girls have to be cute? Why am I like this?_

She spent the next few hours busy, on and off, only able to glance occasionally at the women in the corner. A few times, one of them was looking at her, and Min blushed when she caught their eyes. But she also caught them laughing, smiling at each other. Flirting. Her heart sank. Were they dating? Not that Min would be upset, really. She couldn’t be jealous over a couple of practical strangers. 

Walking by the table a while later to pick up the empty cups, Min eyed the covers of the books. Law textbooks, collections of essays, commentaries on different aspects of different legal systems. Elayne was the polysci student, she knew, but she knew little about this Avi. Subtlety was not Min’s strong suit, apparently, because she was noticed. 

“It’s an international law class,” she said. Avi said, Min realized upon glancing in the direction of the voice. Avi’s voice was pitched lower than Elayne’s, and she had a very different accent. More precise, but not as formal as the blonde woman’s politician-style non-regional accent. Elayne’s mother, Min seemed to remember, was some sort of politician herself - perhaps a senator? Back to Avi, though. The tall, tanned woman was smiling at Min, blue-then-green eyes friendly. _Well, shit. I’ve made eye contact, I give up._

“I’m taking the class to fulfill a requirement, I’m not a polisci major. But Elayne is helping me study.” And then she gave Elayne the same look she had just given Min, and Elayne positively sparkled. And Min felt dull again. This back-and-forth wouldn’t do. _I’m tired, it’s late, I’m lonely, I’ve been working for the last 2 weeks straight and I haven’t gone out with anyone in who knows how long. These girls are cute and are flirting with me and each other and I don’t know what to do with this information._

“Ah, well, I hope that goes well.” Min flashed an absent smile, picking up the dishes and fleeing back to the counter, trying to stamp down her thoughts and focus on work. The shop closed in a few hours, it was still busy, and she could ponder her romantic confusions (and failures) when she got home. 

She managed to avoid looking too long at the table in the corner until the last customer filed out of the shop and locked the door on their heels. Elayne and Avi were among the last to leave. Min took a bin around to each of the tables, collecting the last of the dishes and trash and the occasional tip or forgotten item. The corner table was last. 

There were two pieces of paper, ripped from the corner of a notebook, that fit together like puzzle pieces. The one on the left had two strings of numbers, one written in a tight, hard hand, and the other with small and orderly characters. Phone numbers. This was confusing. The paper on the right contained a few lines of text in the same handwriting as the first number. 

> _Send one of us a message, we don’t bite. Also, mind if I host the university’s polyamory discussion group here once a month? Night’s flexible & up to you, an hour or two would be fine. We’ll all buy drinks, of course. _
> 
> _-Avi_

Well, that explained a lot. Min felt a little brighter. Closing the store seemed like less of a chore. And she resolved to actually text one of those numbers. Eventually. 


End file.
